Eric Lankford will be tried as adult

Eric Hunter Lankford was moved Tuesday to the Spartanburg County Jail because he turned 17.

He's awaiting trial as an adult on three counts of murder.

On Jan. 17, 2011, Lankford’s father, Joe Robert Lankford, 44, his great-aunt, Virginia Dare Gaston, 83, and his grandmother, Rachel Gaston Lankford, 80, were killed at their home. A police report said the victims were found in different rooms and that all three had been shot in the face or head.

Prosecutors said Eric Lankford, then 14, calmly called 911 and told a dispatcher that he had shot his relatives with a .22-caliber rifle. He told dispatchers he would be waiting for them at the home.

When officers arrived, the teen came out of the house with no shirt on and his hands in the air.

A .22 caliber rifle was found on the table in the living room, the report said. Fisher said the teen's father had given the rifle to his son as a birthday gift four months before the shootings.

No trial date has been set, but prosecutors say they plan to resolve the case by the end of the year.

Eric Lankford has been held at the Department of Juvenile Justice since his arrest.

A court appearance is scheduled next month.

Copyright 2013 byWYFF The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.